Angel, a nine-year-old girl from Hackney is one of these children who will be without a home this Christmas.

She described staying at the hostel as “scary” and that it did not "feel safe”.

Angel, aged 9 from Hackney has been living in a hostel with her family for two years. Video: Shelter

"I didn’t feel safe at all because there were other people living there...they would smoke a lot and it wasn’t good,” she said.

“I felt pretty scared because you never knew what would happen next there.”

She added that there were often rats in her family’s hostel.

“There were mice and there were rats,” she said. “You see how they’re really sneaky, they come through our door and then they’re just running around everywhere in the night so they can find food where they can.”

'No joy in this house'

Westminster is the worst-affected local authority, where one in 11 children is homeless.

People in Kensington and Chelsea have also suffered as the borough has the highest house prices in the country. One in 12 children in the area are without a home.

Outside of London, the number of homeless children has soared with the North West seeing a rise of 175% in the last five years alone.

Teachers have also reported the homelessness impacting the children’s emotional and mental health, as they struggle with stress, anxiety and emotional trauma, the report found.